When OTT platforms first emerged in India, it was believed that they would usher in a new era of storytelling, one that doesn't rely on stars. But with an increasing number of mainstream stars headlining OTT projects, it looks like the level-playing nature of the streaming space is going to take a hit. The star system has started to seep in, and actor-director Konkona Sen Sharma agrees. Fresh from the critical acclaim for her Lust Stories 2 segment The Mirror, Konkona interacted with Film Companion and affirmed that the content creators in the OTT space are chasing stars for their projects. She said, "More than talent, people who are putting in money, want stars. I can understand they are putting in money and they want to cover the bases, many stars are talented and perhaps some aren't that much. Even for OTT, there is a move towards stars." When asked if the star system is setting in the OTT space as well, Konkona agreed, and added, "There is a lot of pressure to take stars. From my own part I can say, as an actor and also as a director, there is a lot of pressure to cast big stars." But she also agreed that only being a star won't help if you do not have talent, and this is a combination that is "best but rare". Among the top Bollywood stars who have moved to digital platforms, Sushmita Sen, Shahid Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan, Manoj Bajpayee, Pankaj Tripathi, Madhuri Dixit and Bobby Deol have thrived. Meanwhile, Konkona will next be seen in Metro In Dino, a spiritual sequel to Life in a… Metro. She will also star in Abhishek Chaubey’s Netflix series Soup with Manoj Bajpayee, her mother Aparna Sen's film The Rapist, and the second season of Mumbai Diaries on Prime Video.
